Fin Kennedy steps down as artistic director of Tamasha

Fin Kennedy has announced he is stepping down as artistic director of Tamasha.

Kennedy has been in post with the company, which champions artists of colour, for seven years. He said in a statement that he'd agreed with the board "the time is right for a handover".

He joined Tamasha in 2013 as co-artistic director with co-founder Sudha Bhuchar, and took the helm solo in spring 2015.

An award-winning playwright himself, Kennedy founded Tamasha Playwrights, a writer-led collective of emerging playwrights from diverse cultural backgrounds. Notable productions during his tenure include Blood, Taxi Tales, Hear Me Now and Leila & Justice.

"It's a wrench to move on from such a much-loved company and its close-knit community of awesome and inspiring artists," Kennedy said. "I'm very proud of everything Tamasha and I have achieved together, and the company will always have a special place in my heart. But mostly I'm proud of the scores of new storytellers we've launched, and all that they're achieving."

Deepa Patel, chair of Tamasha, responded: "It's been a privilege and pleasure to work alongside Fin. His commitment to finding and nurturing new voices has been instrumental in developing Tamasha's vision as the home for unheard stories. On behalf of the board and staff we thank him for his hard work and achievements during his time and wish him success in his future career. We will announce the details of our future leadership once they are finalised."

Read our 'changing of the guard' interview with Fin Kennedy